Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 2080

It's a common misconception to say 'absent with the body is present with the Lord'. This idea originated from 2 Corinthians 5:8, but if you read the verse you will see it doesn't say if anyone is absent from their body that they are automatically with the Lord 100% of the time. Paul said he would "rather" be present with the Lord, or he would prefer that. Many Christians today would prefer that also. But just because you prefer something doesn't mean it will 100% guaranteed happen for 100% of all people 100% of the time, or even that it would sometimes happen. No, Paul only said he would "rather" for that to occur. Since the Bible says what it says and not what people commonly misquote, I do not interpret this as evidence to the theory that people automatically go to heaven after death. If there were other verses saying this, that would be fine, but I am not aware of any. Only taking a few verses and making an assumption about it, such as Jesus saying today he would be in paradise. Notice he did not say heaven, but paradise. They may not be the same thing.

If we are going to discuss this fairly we must consider what the rest of the Bible says on this topic.

Matthew 12:36 - People will be judged at some point on the same day. Is it likely that they are judged AFTER they go to heaven or BEFORE?

2 Corinthians 5:10 - People are judged first THEN they receive what is due.

Revelation 20:11-15 - People are all judged on the same day. Lots of people seen in the same place.

Because the Bible says this, it can't mean that people are judged immediately when they die- because not everyone is dead yet, and it can't mean that people go immediately to heaven if they aren't judged yet.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says the dead will rise and those living will meet the Lord in the air.

Would it make sense for someone to go heaven, then back to earth to rise up, then back again to heaven?

It says people will 'sleep' in-between: Job 14:12, 1 Thessalonians 4:14

Pat, if I may direct you to Romans 2:12-16:

"For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

Here we see the Apostle Paul's teaching on those who have sinned "in the Law" (i.e. the Jews who were given God's Law to abide by & to judge themselves as those who failed in keeping the Law perfectly), and those who 'perish' (note: not 'sinned', since sin is effected, accountable & punishable by God by the giving of a Law, Romans 3:20) without having received the Law.

So to the Jew who remains under the burden of the Law & not in receipt of God's Grace in Christ, they will be judged by the Law, & they will fail, for none could ever keep the Law perfectly ( Galatians 2:21b:"for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.").To the Gentile (non-Jew) who in days past never received or even heard of God's Laws & therefore never subject to its conditions, Paul says that these may not have the written Law in stone/parchment, but by nature perform the Law as written upon their hearts; it's now their conscience that accuses them of doing wrong or excuses their sins, that God sees & thus judges. Certainly not like getting God's Commands directly, but when both Jew & Gentile have to stand before God, the judgement meted to them will be based on the Law whether given directly or written in their hearts/consciences.

And that's why the Gospel is so important: it is salvation to all.

I have an airplane, everyone that gets on and sits down will fly to Houston. Any one who does not get on will not go to Houston.

Anyone gets on and does not sit down will still go to Houston!!

Unpardonable sin? Can't be done. Only happened in the time of Christ if you saw Him do a miracle and you said it was done by Satan. Today, the closest thing to an unpardonable sin is to not believe in the saving grace of Jesus. Believing is more than just "believing," as many might think. Please refer to the many times that we are exhorted to keep the commandments (by John, especially). Also, please refer to the sections which state that our names can be "blotted out of the Lamb's Book of Life," which would imply that our name had to be in it to be blotted out. Therefore, it is imperative that a believer be a person who changes their life, and so endures in that changed life "to the end." As you sin along the way, keep asking for forgiveness. However, do not sin intentionally, knowing that there is grace. Paul cautioned against sinning more so that grace could more abound. Seek to do good.

There are seashell fossils on the top of Mount Everest.

Peter was crucified upside down. He was crucified many years later in Rome.

After death, your spirit goes to be with Jesus. "Absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." The opening of the graves shows the reuniting of the body with the spirit, and the transformation of the body occurs at that time to become the immortal body.

You show your conversion to Jesus by being obedient to Him. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Those who keep the commandments will eat of the Tree of Life.

Hi Ashley, I have prayed for you and your baby girl, as well as others on the site, continue to without ceasing

Yes, Jesus, being God, was a Jew, born of a Jewish mother. However, His spirit came from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the body that was prepared for Him was Jewish, and He was God with us (Immanuel).

In the Bible, we see God as a trinity because it mentions that God, Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit each did these things below:

Each is ETERNAL ( Rom 16.26, Re 22:13, Heb 9:14)

HOLY (Re 4:8, 15:4, Ac 3:14, 1 John 2:20)

OMNIPRESENT ( Jer 23:24, Eph 1:23, Ps 139:7)

OMNIPOTENT( Ge 17:1, Rev 1:8, Ro 15:19, Jer 32:17, Heb 1:3, Lu 1:35)

ONMISCIENT (Ac 15:18, Joh 21:17, 1 Cor 2:10,11)

CREATOR ( Gen 1:1, Col 1:16, Job 33:4, Ps 148:5, John 1:3, Job 26:13)

SANCTIFIER ( Jude 1:1, Heb 2:11, 1 Pe 1:2)

RESURRECTED CHRIST ( 1 Co 6:14, Joh 2:19, 1 Pe 3:8)

Hope that helps.

According to the bible how is the best way to handle sex temptation

The only part of the trinity that we will ever "see" is Jesus, as the other two are invisible. We can only see the "glory" of the Father. Jesus said that "he who hath seen me hath seen the Father" implying that they would act the same. For our purposes, we will only see Jesus, so we therefore see God as a man. That being said, the image and likeness you speak of in Gen 1:26 is referring to man before The Fall. Once The Fall occurred, man became made in the image of fallen Adam and Eve, as seen in Gen 5:1. For example, fallen man dies, but God does not. Fallen man has a sinful nature, but God does not. etc.

The short answer to the meaning of God's Grace is, 'God's unmerited favour or kindness shown to us'. That is, God has chosen to show us His Love & Kindness even when we were the 'last people on Earth' to deserve it. Actually, theologically, I like to look at it this way: God is a Merciful God (i.e. His very being of Love, Holiness, Justice, etc. also has Mercy as a very important integral part of the Being of God). So when God demonstrates His Mercy (that part of His Character) & sheds it upon us an undeserving people, we receive it as His Grace in our lives. I realize that often the words 'Mercy & Grace' are used by Christians interchangeably, but to help my understanding & when sharing God's Word, I like to show a differentiation between the two, though both are certainly vitally connected.

And God's Mercy, shown to mankind by His Grace, has always been the enjoyment & security of all those who are called by Him to receive it. To Israel, they were selected as God's chosen, for no other reason than to pour out His Love upon them as He had promised to their fathers, & to make them a special (holy) people (see Deuteronomy 7:6-9). And to us today, to as many as have been called to salvation & eternal life, God has persisted in that Love for all of us, by sending us His Son to be our Substitute to receive His punishment for our sins. There was no other way that God could justify in keeping the human race going on in sin. Just as He destroyed all but few in the Great Flood, so His Mind was that He would do it again for the volume of sins that were before Him. But at the appointed time to hold back that Wrath ( Romans 5:6), He sent Jesus to pay sin's price on our behalf & to avert (to change direction) His Anger against us ( 1 John 2:2, 4:10). So His Anger was then placed upon Jesus (as our sin-bearer) that those who put their trust in Him can be declared 'not guilty'. Such was the load that Jesus bore for us: our sin & God's Anger.

Such is God's Grace given to us.

The Bible is quite clear on this. We all have desires and a sinful nature. We can choose to act on our desires or to reject them. For example, a person who was born with a nature to be angry can control his temper, or a woman who was born as a nymphomaniac or a man as a kleptomaniac, can choose to control their nature. Also, some natures may be acquired in our youth, such as a bullying or physically abusive nature, sometimes brought on by a relative or neighbor who mistreated us. We are in this life for a test of whether we love God or choose to do our own desires. See Deuteronomy 13:1-3 for example. Often, these desires are compelling and overwhelming. When we believe we cannot control them, we must kneel in humble prayer to Jesus and ask Him to help us. Greater is He that is in me, than he (Satan) that is in the World. Let us be thankful that we have a savior who loves us and gave Himself for us, and that we can express our love for Him by being obedient to Him. "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

Godly go to be with Jesus. The ungodly, if they reject Jesus, will be cast into outer darkness away from God, and into a second death which is a lake of fire.

Jesus can be in more than one place at one time, as He is everywhere as God. It is nothing for God to judge each of us individually and simultaneously. Even when on Earth, Jesus said he would be wherever two or three are gathered in His name. The judgement for believers is not to judge our sins, but to reward our works. There is no condemnation for those in Jesus ( Rom 8:1). The judgement for us is more like an awards ceremony. The judgement for sinners who have rejected Jesus is quite different, as there is no one to pay for their sins, therefore they have the second death. The wages of sin is death. The gift of eternal life is for those who trust in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus.

Amen, praise the Lord paul!

It's likely the animals were inactive, possibly hibernating, for the ark voyage. Also, small bodies were likely, as in young animals. Regardless, there was plenty of room.

Hello Brooke,

I like your question because it is the same thing I used to think. In my belief. Once you are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ and have a personal relationship with God there is no more need to fear Him. As pure love, for Him, will take over and your entire life with everything you do surrounds Him. In living your life after the foot steps of Christ. Living a life that makes God happy. After repentance from things of this world and living a life of Holiness, grace, and truth. Actually doing our best seriously to stay away from the sins of this world because that is what makes God happy.

Another way to look at it is the Hebrew word "yirah" for "fear" can also mean "respect, reverence, or piety". Hopefully people won't take this the wrong way and that I don't think there should be fear of God. As one of the verses states, that Adam posted, how God is Almighty and can destroy the body and soul of the evil and wicked. Sometimes fear is what may drive people toward God. Of coarse you have to believe in Him first which is a big problem in this world today.

So if you truly have an intimate relationship with God. There is no need to fear Him as love overcomes fear. Of coarse your respect and reverence for Him will be through your love. Living your life for Him. Your true love will shine to Him. Here's a couple verses you may like. God Bless you sister.

Psalms 31:23

Psalms 91

Psalms 97:10

Psalms 145:20

Proverbs 8:7

2 Timothy 1:7

2 Corinthians 7:1

1 John 4:7-19. All of, 1 John is a good book on the love of God.

Still looking for comment I read years ago, Can anyone help ? Ezekiel lay on a bed of nails ? Andy

when a person is cremated how are they resurrected for judgement?

Is suicide a sin ?

What Nationality are Ethiopians?

Paula Roberts, Acts20:7 is the earliest pattern of meeting to break bread, the first day of the week, long before there was a vatican. An individual can worship God at any time, but the body of believers, gathered together, should follow the pattern established by the apostles and early disciples, seen here in scripture.

If you are influenced by Adventist teaching, it may be justification by works that is causing the pushback. Following the Bible is not the way to heaven, knowing Christ has paid for all your sins is the only way. If you ever think you can be good enough, that's wrong.

The Sabbath/rest for Christians is throughly discussed by Paul in Hebrews 3&4. In particular, Heb.4:11, that is, a rest from our efforts to obtain salvation by our own works. What are you going to offer to God, that would add to the work of his son on the cross??? To offer anything is to diminish his ability to save you by his grace.

Israel/the world, was under the law(a schoolmaster Galatians 3:24 & 25) to bring them to Christ. The Church is by grace. Romans 6 There are many so called churches that confuse the distinctions between Israel and the Church, Adventists being only one.

ALL the work of salvation was done by Christ. You are saved, if you believe/trust him alone. 1Cor.15:3&4, Romans 10:9,10,11

I know I have read it Ezekiel laying on a bed of nails

I love learning god's word

What is Grace? How does it act?

This is a reply on Chris's comment about judgment & hell. But I'm going to comment on it in a series of questions that I believe many bible believing Christians should think and pray on.

1) How much does God love people?

2) Where did Jesus Spirit go during the three days His body was in the earth?

3) Consider this: 1 Peter 3:18-20 NKJV "For Christ also suffer once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared..."

4) Who were these spirits Jesus preached to and freed?

Finally, I'll ask again, how much does God love people? I encourage everyone to think on this, and converse with the Holy Spirit.

I agree, god which is our heavenly father he does want us to come back and turn to him and look up to him.